We all departed with our new friends around 830am. Our first lock (E17) is one of the tallest in the world according to the signage. We pulled in and thought got secured for the lift. There was a bit of debris but we made it through with no issues. We continued on to the next lock. We again got secured and the lock started to fill. I noticed the bow was getting pushed out and ran down to help Lauren. No matter what we did, we couldn’t keep the bow from being pushed out due to the high flow of water filling the lock. The Lockmaster came down and apologized for filling it too fast. We got control as best we could and finally saw the gates opening. Whew! That was not fun! About 10 minutes after leaving the lock our friends sent me a video of our locking experience. Apparently they were filming themselves going through the lock and caught us on tape. It is quite funny (after the fact!) to watch “how NOT to lock through”.
We were in need of water and our friends were in need of fuel so we decided to stop at a marina along the way for a quick fill up. I had planned to stop at a free dock and told our friends who were going up river a bit farther for their fuel. We attempted to pull up to the free dock and saw weeds growing up from the river. This means it’s pretty shallow. Hmm. I pulled close and soon saw us kicking up mud. Shit. I reversed out of there and decided it was too risky. We continued up to the Village of Ilion Marina where they were still getting fuel. We pulled up and inquired about getting water. They agreed for a small fee to allow me to fill our tanks while we waited for our friends. Apparently we were close to the Remington Arms Plant as there was a big sign advertising tours and we also saw a bagpiper playing to the water. Unfortunately we weren’t staying and due to COVID the Remington Factory was closed to the public so no tour for us. Once we both finished filling up, we continued on our way. We got to lock E20 and it too was filled with tons of debris and floating grass. This did not make me feel good as I know this could get sucked into the water exhaust and cause clogs and problems. Sure enough as soon as we were pulling out of the lock I noticed a reduction in throttle and the exhaust sounded weird. We were passing a free dock and I told Lauren we were going to stop here. I radioed to our friends and told them my plan and they wished us luck and continued on. We pulled in and I went to work cleaning out the raw water strainer. It was full of grass and stuff and by now it looked like we were going to stay here for the night.
Day 2- We started with taking Frank for a walk and having a leisurely coffee as we weren’t in a hurry and didn’t plan on going too far. Sylvan Beach is our next stop which is only about twenty miles and a few locks to the west. We got situated and I fired up the engine. I could tell right away something still didn’t sound right. Damn. Since I had cleaned out the strainer yesterday I figured it must be blocked somewhere else. Just to be safe I did check the strainer first and it was clear. Okay. Now I assume the block must be under the boat at the intake opening. I fire up the engine again and look at the exhaust; it should be mixing water with it and there is very little water coming out. Fuck. This means I have to dive under the boat and try to unclog the intake. I relay all this information to Lauren and neither of us are thrilled about the situation and Lauren wasn’t offering to jump in. It took me a little while to psyche myself up and prepare my safety lines then in I went. I wasn’t worried about sharks this time, but I was in a canal with lots of boat traffic and a lock right behind us. I had the snorkel mask on and slipped under to inspect. There did seem to be a bit of debris clumped in the opening and I cleared it best I could. I even took a straightened clothes hanger and used that to try to dig up and release the debris. I then fired up the engine and then re-cleaned the strainer to be safe. It was early afternoon at this point but we still had time. We prepared to leave the dock and off we went. As soon as I pulled clear and tried to throttle up I could tell it still wasn’t right. WTF!? We hadn’t gone far and I called to Lauren we had to go back. I circled around and we docked right back where we had just left. Now I was frustrated and not sure what to do. I started research online and looking at the books I had on hand. Lauren was trying to help too and we were both trying to figure this out. At this point it was getting later in the day and we realized we would be staying here another night. I noticed a boat coming through the lock and saw it was some more friends we had met a while back. They pulled up and we chatted a bit about my engine issues. He gave some suggestions and I was looking in to those. We didn’t feel like cooking tonight so I looked up a pizza place and ordered delivery to a nearby apartment building. I took Frank for a walk and waited in the parking lot for the pizza delivery. Once I picked that up we made our way back to the boat. We ate our pizza and tried to make the best of our situation. Tomorrow I will try something else and hopefully that will get us going. Fingers crossed to that! It was getting dark so we were getting ready to retire for the evening. Lauren was doing a head count and couldn’t find LuLu. I kept telling Lauren that she’s probably just hiding, but she wasn’t going to bed until we found the cat. I started looking around and I couldn’t find her either. Hmm. By now Lauren is convinced that the cat is not on the boat and is now searching with a flashlight along the park. I grabbed a bag of treats and a flashlight and start calling out for the cat. I worked my up along the forest line and the grass and thought I saw some eyes reflecting back at me up ahead. I shook the treat bag while calling her name and sure enough I saw Lulu slinking along in the grass. Holy shit! She was so close to making her big break, but we caught her! I was able to retrieve her and bring her back to the boat and turn her over to Lauren. That was close! Good thing Lauren is so diligent! Now that the animals were all accounted for she locked us all in for the night.
Day 3- We got up and I started tinkering around again to no avail. I assisted out friends off and they continued on while we were still trying to figure out what to do. We actually pulled away from the dock only to turn right around again. I was too afraid of doing damage (more damage?) to try to carry on. On another attempt to figure out the problem I had Lauren drive away from the dock while I was in the engine room. I saw that a rubber hose was collapsing and restricting the water flow! I had my aha moment! Now to fix this… there wasn’t any boat supply shops around so I was at a loss until Lauren had me call a marina mechanic and ask his advice. He told me to use a clamp or two to strengthen/ keep the hose from collapsing and it should be okay to get us to the next stop. Alright! Lauren always has the best ideas! I went to work and soon had us ready but again we had most of the day pass us so it was going to be another night spent along the wall. I decided to walk to a gas station that didn’t look too far. Boy was I wrong. Frank and I trekked to the store and I picked up some ice and beverages. The walk back was not fun and a quarter of the ice melted by the time we got back. Oh well- we still had enough for a toast and cold beverages before making dinner and retiring for the night. We plan to get a fairly early start tomorrow and head to Sylvan Beach. There is a free dock there and hopefully a beach! It’s been hot and we’re looking forward to swimming and cooling off in Sylvan Lake.
